The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 433: On the Eve of Farewell

Today, Belfast was as lively as a festival.

The bluish stone streets, veiled in a light haze, were crowded with carriages and pedestrians. Not even the acrid smell of burning wood, which the drizzling rain could not wash away, could mask the vibrant scene of a port teeming with ships.

Belfast and Khimfast were both cities of the "fast" class, but Khimfast could not compare to Belfast in either population or beauty.

The view from the mountaintop, after the long climb up its slope, was breathtaking: orderly rows of houses and streets descended toward Moon Bay and the endless sea beyond.

One by one, the passengers in the carriages ahead of Lu Li drew back their curtains to admire the landscape and marvel at the splendor of Belfast.

Its final splendor.

Upon entering Belfast, the carriages, each with a different destination, began to part ways, though most still traveled together, heading for a common goal—Port Roadster.

Two carriages ahead of Lu Li turned toward Agate Lake. The wind lifted a curtain, revealing a lady seated inside, who covered her nose with a handkerchief in disgust.

She was, indeed, on her way to Baroness Joseph's estate.

Half an hour later, Lu Li returned to the familiar sight of Sailor Street.The storm had subsided yesterday afternoon. Once the newspapers announced that the next one was not expected for another two or three days, the residents of the wooden houses had hurried to remove the boards from their windows and throw them open, trying to rid their homes of the smell of dampness and rot that had soaked into the wood.

The carriage stopped in front of a long building. Lu Li, Aunt Mary, and a concealed Anna stepped out, nodded to the familiar faces that greeted them, and entered the dark corridor.

In two days, apart from the sandbags having been removed from the entrance, nothing in the building seemed to have changed.

The heavy stench of rotting wood made Aunt Mary feel slightly ill. Most of the doors along the corridor were shut tight, giving the impression that the building was deserted. She followed Lu Li toward one of the doors.

"You live in conditions like these?" she asked, surprised.

"And in the forest on the mountain," a quiet voice murmured. It was Anna.

Lu Li, bending down to retrieve a brass key from under the doormat, turned his head slightly.

Beside the door sat a plush toy with button eyes, covered in patches from which tufts of black cotton still poked out.

An envelope lay next to the toy.

Taking the envelope, Lu Li straightened up, inserted the key into the lock, and answered Aunt Mary's astonished gaze, "We've always been short on funds."

The door groaned open, its bottom edge scraping against the floor, swollen from the damp, and leaving an iridescent trail in its wake.

Contrary to expectations, the sharp smell of rot did not flood the corridor.

The female statue, which had once stood by the coat rack but now sat in the chair behind the desk, explained who had taken care of the cleaning.

Aunt Mary noticed the statue as well but assumed Lu Li had placed it there deliberately and thought nothing more of it.

Until a materialized Anna asked, "Are we taking the statue with us?"

Lu Li didn't answer. He walked over to the desk and, looking at the elegant but colorless statue, asked, "We're leaving for the Lennon Archipelago. What is your choice?"

For a long time, there was no reply. Lu Li asked Anna and Aunt Mary not to look at the statue, then walked around the desk and took a notepad from a drawer, tearing out two sheets.

On one, he wrote "stay," and on the other, "leave."

After closing its eyes for a moment, the statue pointed its attached, pale hand toward the word "stay."

"Alright. She doesn't want to come with us."

Lu Li crumpled both sheets of paper and tossed them into the empty wastebasket.

He tore open the envelope, scanned the letter quickly, and turned to Anna and Aunt Mary. "Anna, we're going to the Elm Forest. Remi and Jimmy are already there. After that, we'll stop by Tesla's to say goodbye, and then, once we've finished our business, we'll head to the port."

For instance, he needed to sell the detective agency and get a new container for his Spirit Gun from the investigators' headquarters.

Lu Li had few acquaintances, so the farewells wouldn't take long.

"To Tesla's house... Do I have to go too?" Anna asked. She still wasn't used to appearing before other people.

Lu Li looked at Anna. "Tesla's wife has wanted to meet you for a long time. She's just like you... It would be best to see her before we leave."

Besides, he needed to find out how things were progressing with the "door" and Richard.

If possible, it would be best to resolve the matter before leaving Belfast that evening.

"Alright," Anna agreed.

Then Lu Li turned to Aunt Mary. "The tickets will be delivered soon. Please stay here and sign for them. We'll be back shortly."

Aunt Mary nodded, then asked hesitantly, "Will I have to stay... with this... statue... alone?"

She was, after all, an ordinary person.

"The statue won't harm you, don't worry."

Lu Li replied, but her words gave him an idea.

They were leaving Belfast, but what should be done with the statue that didn't want to go?

Lu Li bent down, retrieved the crumpled papers from the wastebasket, smoothed them out, and placed them on the desk. "We are leaving. You can choose to go to the shelter—Anna's sister is there now—or I will contact the Exorcist United Organization, and they will send you back to Benjamin. 'Stay' will mean the shelter."

After another blink of its stone eyes, the statue chose the shelter.

Lu Li turned to Anna. "Take her. We're leaving."

They left the detective agency with the statue and returned to the carriage. Lu Li, pulling on his cloak, took the reins.

He was just about to set off when he heard a call. "Mr. Lu Li! Wait... Please wait!"

A luxurious carriage approached them, and a woman leaned out of the window.

Lu Li recognized her—it was Baroness Joseph's housekeeper.

Waiting until the carriage drew closer, the housekeeper bowed slightly and said, "You've finally returned. The Baroness will be leaving Belfast soon, and today is the last day of her farewell reception. She asked that I be sure to invite you, saying it is very important."

"Is she heading to the Lennon Archipelago?" Lu Li asked.

The housekeeper, aware of the relationship between Lu Li and the baroness, did not hide the truth. "The Baroness will be going to a shelter built by the exorcists."

That was unexpected. Lu Li had thought Baroness Joseph would choose the Lennon Archipelago—compared to an underground shelter devoid of daylight, the archipelago seemed a more fitting place for the nobility, even if it meant waiting for the end there.

"When does it start?" Lu Li inquired.

"At noon, sir," the housekeeper replied.

"Tell the baroness I'll be there."

There was still time, and the baroness's estate and Tesla's house were close to each other on the shore of Agate Lake, so he could stop by on the way.

"Then I will inform the baroness at once. She will be very pleased you are coming."

The housekeeper bid Lu Li farewell and turned her carriage around.

Lu Li looked away, pulled on the reins, and headed in the opposite direction. The carriage gradually disappeared into the morning mist.